12 October 2010

Throughout its deployment in Afghanistan, Canada has relied on Camp Mirage in the UAE as a stopover on the way to and from Kandahar and Kabul. But the UAE put an end to that arrangement after failing to secure dozens of new landing slots in Canada for Dubai-based Emirates airline and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

Canadian officials were shocked when Mr. MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk were told that they could not land at Camp Mirage or even fly over the UAE.

“The Harper government should make a high-level, last-ditch attempt to persuade UAE to accept a six-month cooling-off period, with a Canadian commitment to treat UAE with respect, for a change, and to negotiate reciprocal airline landing rights in good faith,” Liberal MP John McCallum said.

The Liberal Party of Canada... bending over and grabbing their ankles yet again.

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RELATED: The first thing we do...

...is break out the breathalyzer...

"In a bizarre, rambling interview this afternoon, Michael Ignatieff's Finance Critic John McCallum openly accused the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces of committing war crimes in Afghanistan."

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FROM THE COMMENTS:

"Remember also, the three countries that recognized the Taliban's 1996-2001 "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" were Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE."